Top 5 Resources for Young Social Entrepreneurs

The buzz of social entrepreneurship is on. It inhabits dormitory halls and high schoolers’ texts. It’s well beyond a trend. Social entrepreneurship is a movement.

Well-known leader of the pack Ashoka has the following thought-provoking statement on its website:

Over the past two decades, the citizen sector has discovered what the business sector learned long ago: There is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class entrepreneur.

Here are some go-to places, in key must-know categories, to keep yourself apprised of developments in the social entrepreneurship field. Will you found the next Tom’s Shoes?

1. Money. Looking for money for a social venture? You can raise money just as you would for a regular business. Beyond the traditional methods of raising money (self, friends, banks, investors), try the following clearinghouses for additional capital:

Ashoka and Skoll are two well-known foundations supporting social ventures – see more in the 130 list below.

Kickstarter.com – the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. This represents the growing “crowdfunding” trend. Here are others. See “Legal” below.

5. Legal. You know it’s real when legal and policy regulations start changing to meet the social entrepreneurship world.

Here is an article on changes in forms of legal incorporation to accomodate social ventures. Are you going to be one of the innovators ahead of the pack ? Be sure to get a great lawyer who is familiar with the forms. There are additional filing requirements, so get smart. With innovation, often come additional responsibilities.

Related to “money” – above – crowdfunding at certain levels in the US is a violation of the Securities Act of 1933. For instance, if you are profitable, or try to give people a share of that profit, it puts you in the same league as a publicly-traded company that sells securities. Follow #crowdfunding on Twitter and keep up with the experts, like Woodie Neiss.

Discussion Questions

1. Developing the social venture idea. In Module 2 of the Entrepreneur in the Classroom free curriculum there is a Mind Mapping exercise in which the student takes and area of interest and develops it into a business idea through brainstorming. Use the Mind Mapping exercise for a social venture that has “double M” (mission and money).

2. Characteristics of the social entrepreneur. Allow the students to review the entrepreneurial profiles discussed in #3, above, and pick a favorite. Does the social entrepreneur resemble the traits they would expect of a typical small business person described in Module 1 of the Entrepreneur in the Classroom free curriculum? Yes, no, maybe? Discuss.

The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization promoting the importance of small business and free enterprise to the nation’s youth. More information is available at www.NFIB.com/YEF. The Foundation is associated with the National Federation of Independent Business; NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals.

Entrepreneur In The Classroom. The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom (EITC) supplemental curriculum exposes students to entrepreneurship and the necessary steps to take an idea and turn it into a business. The free curriculum can be integrated into classes teaching a variety of subjects including music, art, fashion, business and many more. You must be registered to view the full Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom curriculum.

Yes. The bill was passed (in reference to #5, above). My 100% go to person is below, because, they literally wrote the legislation:

Crowdfund Investing
@woodien
The entrepreneurs who wrote the Crowdfund Investing framework for the JOBS Act. Follow our path from idea to law to reality!
Miami Beach, FL · http://www.CrowdfundCapitalAdvisors.com

this is 1st class stuff. we run a business ww.imaginewhatsnext.com and provide entrepreneur training and entrepreneur development. i will definately be sharing this article with our members – directing them to this site!